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Division lead on line today for Cleveland
The same Browns team that got waxed by Pittsburgh and lost to Oakland is going for its fourth straight win.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
PITTSBURGH — The best part about getting today's game under way is that everyone connected with the Cleveland Browns will stop talking about how the Pittsburgh Steelers put their pants on one leg at a time.
Head coach Romeo Crennel said it at the beginning of the week, eliciting groans. Quarterback Derek Anderson said it in the middle of the week and you knew where he got it.
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If nothing else, the Browns are good at following their leader and memorizing his messages.
Now, can they win four in a row? Can they snap an eight-game losing streak to Pittsburgh and tie the Steelers for first place in the AFC North?
Those are heady questions considering there were many who thought the Browns wouldn't win four games, period, this season after being crushed 34-7 by the Steelers on opening day.
Back then, the Browns were ranked dead last in just about every power ranking, from ESPN.com to the guy in his basement.
That was a different team, however. And now the stakes are high.
"It's for first place in the division," Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel said. "It's going to be a classic."
The Browns are averaging 30 points per game with Anderson under center and are a blocked field goal against Oakland from being 6-2. The Steelers boast the NFL's No. 1 defense.
"I think we've done some good things (since the Week 1 debacle)," Anderson said. "We've moved on and continued to improve."
It was 1994, with Bill Belichick as head coach, when the Browns last won four in a row. After splitting their first two games, they won five straight on their way to an 11-5 record and a spot in the playoffs, where they beat the Patriots before being waxed by the Steelers.
A win today would be just the Browns' third in Pittsburgh since 1989.
